This State of the Environment (SoE) Report meets the legislative requirement of the Tasmanian Planning Commission (the Commission) under s29 of the State Policies and Projects Act 1993. This is the third (five yearly) report prepared under the requirements of the Act. The Executive Summary for the 2009 SoE Report is available for downloading through the following link: 2009 SoE Report Executive Summary.

The 2009 SoE Report is designed for use by the general community and policy makers to help inform decision-making. It is also intended for use by scientists, students and resource managers who require summary information and perspectives from other disciplines. The 2009 SoE Report can also be used to gain insights into some of the available underlying databases and information sources. Links to these data sources are provided.

This SoE Report presents information for the reporting period from 2003 to 2008 and considers changes since the second SoE Report (Internal linkRPDC 2003). Earlier baselines are used where data are available and relevant for describing conditions, trends and changes in Tasmania's environment over the longer-term.

Reporting framework

The Tasmanian Planning Commission has adopted a 'condition-pressure-response' framework for the 2009 SoE Report. Four major environmental themes — Air, Water, Natural Values, People and Places — are included in the 2009 SoE Report. Each of these theme chapters is made up of condition (state) and pressure Issue Reports. These Issue Reports present information for the reporting period and are supported by environmental indicators. Indicators have been compiled using data from a variety of sources. The structure is illustrated in the following diagram.